Sepaeatoe foe geain



(No Model.) 4 SheetsSh.eet 1.

G. P. FULLMER. SEPARATOR FOR GRAIN, &c. No. 587,549. Patented Aug.3,1897.

Inventor".

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Fig.1.

Witnesses (No Model.) 48hee ts-Sheet 2. G. P. PULLM'ER. SEPARATOR FORGRAIN, &c.

No. 587,549. Patented Aug. 3,1897.

Fig. 2.

Witnesses.- Inventor (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

C. P. PULLMER.

SEPARATOR FOR GRAIN, 8w.

N0. 587,549. Patented Aug. 3, 1897.

Inventcm Iii M r I I H// m M m m m m w m U m w w A m T X Z R B 7\I////////// E IHII 5 R D D D w G m 4 6 S s Witnesses PATENT OFFICE. 2

CHARLES P. FULLMER, OF BENTON,

PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF- ONE- HALF TO IVILLIAM H. MAGILL, OF SAMEPLACE.

SEPARATOR FOR GRAIN, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed June 17, 1896.

.T 0 M5 whom it may concern:.

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. FULLMER, of Benton, Columbia county,Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvemen ts inSeparators for Grain and other Materials, of which the following is adescription, referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a partof this specification.

The invention relates to grain-separators; and its object is to simplifyand at the same time render more efficient, compact, and economic inoperation such apparatus. Indeed the improvements are of so simple anature that they will be readily understood from a description of theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate one preferred embodiment of myinvention.

Briefly stated, by the operation of my improved separator the grain orother material is subjected to a fractional or successive separatingprocess by which first only the dust and similar materials are carried06, and in the following separations the heavier materials are carriedover by the draft of air, so that not only can the grain be far more efficientl y separated from the impurities than where it is attempted tomake the separation at a single operation, but also it is both possibleand convenient with my improved separator to grade the differentqualities or sizes of grain and other materials to which the separatoris applied. The air-drafts are so delicately regulated and so directedthat only the finest dust and impurities can follow the windings of theair-passages and be carried out by the blower. The heavier impuritiesand the grain will be severally received in the separator-chutes beneaththe apparatus, while nails, ore, stones, and other heavy for eignobjects will be delivered from another chute.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the separator. Fig. 2 is asimilarview of the separator, the top being removed, as indicated by theplanes 2 2 of Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on theplane 3 3 of Figs. 1, 2, and 4, looking from the right. Fig. 4 is avertical section on the plane at 4: of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, looking fromthe left of Fig. and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the de- Patent No.587,549, dated August 3, 1897.

Serial No. 595,833. (No model.)

livery-chutes, the cover and upper walls of the chutes being removed.

Throughout the drawings like letters of reference indicate like parts.

The supporting-framework B may be of any wooden or other construction,and is of course not material to the principles of my invention.

It will be most convenient to consider the various parts of my apparatusin the order of their normal operation.

At 0 is shown the receiving-hopper, which for the purpose of explanationwe will consider is intended for grain, the separator illustrated beingparticularly adapted for the separation of wheat and other grain. hopperC thechute c delivers the grain into the vertical air passage or flue D,up which is drawn a constant current of air which can be carefully andaccurately regulated to suit the requirements and eifeet the desiredvoperation of the separator. This air-draft is produced by the blower E,which creates a partial vacuum within the inclosed housing or casing ofthe apparatus. The direction of the air-current is indicated by longarrows in all the figures, particularly in Fig. 3, and from these itwill be clear that constant drafts of air pass up the flues D, D, D",and D'. Each of these air blasts or drafts is deflected downward in itsrespective passage upon entering the casing, as at F, and thence passesunder the vertical deflector f and again upward through the rising flueG into the main chamber of the housing or casin g, from which the air isexhausted by the fan or blower E.

It will be seen from the plan View Fig. 2 up to the point where thecurrent of air leaves the flue G and enters the main chamber each of theair-passages is distinct from the others, being separated by thepartitions g gv g".

* In order to maintain a constant air-exhaustion within the housing, Iprovide the automatic regulator-valve II, which, as clearly shown inFig. 3, is a trap which opens downward and is provided with thecounterweight h, which may be delicately adj usted to regulate theexhaustion to a nic-ety. The area of the valve H being considerable, analmost inappreciable increase of exhaustion beneath From the the trapwill cause it to open slightly and alalent devicej, may be controlledfrom the outside of the casing to regulate the width of opening betweenthe transverse sill K and the edge of the valve J. In addition to themain passages for the air through the fines ,F F F F and G, G, G, and Gsome air escapes from the fine F bypassing up through the opening Lbetween the defiecting-sillsl Z.-

At M is shown a vertical gate-valve for regulating the communicatingpassage between the fines d and F, there being one such gatevalve foreach of the fines D d, D d, D d, and D d, so that besides the regulationof draft by means of the speed of the blower and the automaticregulator-valve H and adj ustable valve J, whichis common to all thefines, each of the fines may beseparately regulated or entirely shutoff, if desired, by means of these valves or gates M, M, M, and M'. Icontrol these valves by means of the bellcrank levers m, one arm of eachlever extending through a hole in its respective valve and the otherextending through a slide, as at N, N, N, and N. It is clear that when aslide, as at N, is drawn upward it closes the corresponding valve, as M,and in so doing it opens an air-passage in the top of the box, as at 0,Figs. 1 and 3. In order to provide for the regulation of this opening 0independently of the regulation of the respective valves M, M, M, andM", the slides P are provided, which are entirely disconnected from thelevers'm and may be set as desired to regulate the admission of airthrough the openings 0. p projecting through the top of the housing forthe purpose of adjusting the slide-valves P.

Returning now to the receiving-hopper G, the grain passing from thehopper 0 through the chute c is shot downward diagonally across therisingcnrrent of air in the fine D. The draft is so regulated that theair acts upon the line dust and even the lighter grain, carrying it upthrough the short flue D into the enlarged portion of the flue d, whilethe heavier materials and almost all the grain falls directly into thehopper O. The current of air in D, expanding into the enlarged portion(1 of the chute, is necessarily checked, and

the rising effect being thereby decreased the grain and indeed allmaterials except the dust and the like, after passing upward a fewinches by their own impetus, fall back again and drop through theconstricted portion of the fine D into the hopper O; I attributeconsiderable importance to this arrangement of fines D d and chutes c,by which the grain as it comes from the chute 0- without much downwardimpetus is acted upon by the strong draft within the constricted portionor month D of In the drawings I indicate pins the fine and particlesthereby carried upward into the enlarged portion d and there allowed tofall back under the decreasing draft and back through the constrictedportion of the fine D, owing to their increased impetus. Moreover, inthe case of fiat stones or scales I find that falling from the chute cand often presenting a fiat surface to the rising draft they are carriedup into the enlarged flue d, where they turn edgewise and instantly dropback through the chute into the hopper 0. Such dust and fine particlesas are carried by the draft of air into the casing and into the fine Fare again separated to some extent, some of the finer dust passingthrough the opening L and thence directly to the blower, while most ofthe dust and all the heavier dust is; carried down through the fine Fand thence up through the fine G to the blower; Fine particles of brokengrain and other solids of appreciable size are prevented from passingthrough the opening L by means of the two deflected sillsl Z, for thetendency of such particles is of course to be projected in straightlines rather than to, follow the sudden tnrn in the air-current.Striking against the vertical deflector F, they are thrown down into thefirst of the series of delivery-chutes R, and even such particles as aredrawn up into the fine G are thrown down by the deflecting-sill K andfall back into the chute R.

If the draft is regulated so-as to be very light in the first fine D,the delivery-chute R maybe made to contain nothing but the heavierparticles of dust; but in practice I prefer to so regulate the draft inthe first fine that the first delivery-chute R will receive the brokengrain or the finest grade of the grain.

The operation in the second fine D and-its enlarged portion d" aresubstantially similar to the operation just described,the constrictedportion of the fine D receiving the grain and heavy impurities from thehopper O. 1 prefer to so regulate the draft in the second chute that itcarries over about a third to one-halfof the grain, though this willvary with the grain, and in case the separator is used to separate twoor more kinds of grain it will depend on the relative sizes and weightsof the kernels or grains. ner the third and fourth series of finesoperate, the third fines preferably carrying over from a third to a halfof the total amount of grain, the fourth fine carrying over all theremaining grain, which will be the largest 1 kernels only. Small stones,broken ore, nails,

and other heavy foreign substances will fall by their own gravity fromthe bottom of the flue d.

It will be seen that the first fines D d are the shortest, while thelast D d are the longest, this being my preferred construction not onlybecause of the convenience in arranging the hoppers C O O 0 so that theywill deliver by gravity successively from one fine to the other, butbecause there should In a similar man-t 7 be the greatest draftordinarily in the last flue. It is an advantage for the more perfectoperation of this last flue to have it considerably longer than theothers, since such particles as are first carried up by the draft andafterward fall back require a greater free rise when they are drawn upat a greater speed and by greater draft. All these matters ofproportion, however, may be considerably varied without departing fromthe principles of operation, which from the foregoing description willbe clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

The drafts in the respective fines are separately regulated by means ofthe valves M M M M and by the admission of air in greater or lessquantities through the openings 0. The fan should be run at a speedwhich produces the necessary exhaustion without opening the automaticregulator-valve H more than a fraction of an inch, as it is clear thatair admitted at this point means a waste of mechanical power in drivingthe blower.

In order to facilitate the regulation of the drafts, I make one or moreof the sides of the fiues D D D D of glass, as indicated at S in Fig. 3.Through this glass the separation of the material as it passes throughthe hoppers into the fines may be seen and the drafts regulatedaccordingly.

\Vhere but a single kind of grain is being separated from the dust andimpurities and where it is not necessary to grade the grain,

ing provided with the pivoted partitions T,

by which any three adjacent chutes may be made to deliver together. Iftwo of the pivoted partitions are turned, as indicated in the throughthese chutes into the interior of the casing, I provide the automaticflap-valves Z, which remain closed until the weight of accumulatinggrain or other material within the hopper or chute R, R, R, or R' opensthem.

Having now fully described one preferred embodiment of my invention, Iclaim and desire to secure by these Letters Patent, together with suchmodifications as may be made without departing from the principlesthereof, as follows:

1. In a separator, the combination with a main or common chamber, andmeans for eX- hausting the air therefrom, of a plurality of fiues orgrain-tubes leading upwardly into said chamber said fines enlargingabruptly toward their upper ends thus producing whirls 0r eddies withinsaid enlarged portions Whereby any of the heavier particles that mayhave been carried up through the lower portions of the flues may beseparated and returned down and out of the fiues against the upfiowin gblast, means for separately regulating the draft in each of said fines,means for delivering the grain and other material which is not carriedthrough the first flue into the second fine and so on in succession, anda separate hopper or receiving-chute for each fiue opening from themain'chamber, the whole operating to simultaneously clean and grade thegrain, substantially as set forth.-

2. In combination in the fiue of a separator, a gate or valve forclosing the said flue, and another gate or valve for regulating thedraft, and connections, for simultaneously operating the two said gatesor valves, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination in the flue of a separator, a gate or valve forclosing the said fiue, another gate or valve for regulating the draft,connections for simultaneously operating the two said gates or valves,and an independently-adjustable gate or valve cooperating with the saidgate or valve for regulating the

